The defendants in the deadly wildfire in Mati in July 2018 were definitively found guilty by an irrevocable ruling of Greece’s Supreme Court.

However, the Supreme Court judges partially overturned the Appeals Court decision regarding the rejection of the mitigating circumstance of a lawful prior life for Sotiris Terzoudis (former Fire Service chief), Vasilis Matthaiopoulos (former deputy chief), and Ioannis Kapakis (former secretary general for Civil Protection).

“The contested decision of the First Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Appeal of Athens is partially overturned with regard to the rejection of the mitigating circumstance under Article 84 paragraph 2(a) of the Penal Code for each of the first three appellants, S.T., V.M., and I.K., and, in the event of its acceptance, regarding the prison sentences imposed on each of them, as well as the total prison sentences determined against them and the executable prison terms set for each,” states decision no. 694/2026, which refers the case back to the Appeals Court for reconsideration regarding the mitigating circumstances and sentencing.

It is recalled that in June 2025, the Second Instance Three-Member Misdemeanor Court of Appeal had imposed sentences totaling 340 years, with five years to be actually served, on Sotiris Terzoudis, Vasilis Matthaiopoulos, Ioannis Fostieris, and Ioannis Kapakis (then secretary general for Civil Protection), leading to their imprisonment.

“For the four defendants, the sentence is imposed without suspension and without conversion, as they are considered likely to commit new offenses, and we will further justify this in our ruling,” the court president had said at the time.